TDEE question concerning activity levels

miss_sarcastic
miss_sarcastic Posts: 131
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I work out often enough. As an example, my HRM says this was my weeks totals: 5:45:35 (hr/min/sec), 5 sessions, 2669 calories. This was a mixture of weights, elliptical, pushups, lunges, squats, etc each day. This is not including today's workout which I'll be doing in a bit (a short 30min, though).

For the next few weeks, I'm probably just going to do the 30DS (~25-30min/day, 6 days/wk, with maybe a half hour of cardio 3 times a week?).

I'm trying to configure my TDEE (-20%), but unsure of what would be the best option. Any help would be appreciated! I haven't been eating nearly enough so I'm trying to figure it all out.

EDIT--
As it stands, when I calculated my TDEE last night:
Moderate exercise (3-5 days/wk) = 2634
Heavy (6-7 days/wk) = 2931

Replies

  • Yasmine91
    Yasmine91 Posts: 599 Member
    bump
  • reddcat
    reddcat Posts: 314 Member
    bump too. Finding the basics to be the hardest. Can eat right and exercise.....but the numbers baffle me.
  • Brandnewme150
    Brandnewme150 Posts: 43 Member
    Try starting with the heavy amount and if it seems like to much and you notice gain switch to the moderate amount you just have to tweak it to what your body is telling you.
  • miss_sarcastic
    miss_sarcastic Posts: 131
    Risking any gain is a bit scary.... as I'm in a wedding on March 9th. The dress I bought is a size smaller than I am right now. Plenty of time to go down a size...but I really don't want to gain and risk the dress not fitting and having an unhappy bride on my hands LOL.

    I may just err on the side of caution and do the moderate level unless anyone else speaks. Especially since my daily totals are going to go down (going from ~1hr, 30min a day to about 30-45 at max). I'm not eating enough to be working out as much as I am. I can work out all day, but can't eat enough to keep up with that amount lol.
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
    only way to find your tdee is to weigh in every week or 2 and adjust your calories according to the scale until you find out where you maintain. It took me a good month to get a good idea of what my weekly tdee is. Well worth the time spent doing this
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    Risking any gain is a bit scary.... as I'm in a wedding on March 9th. The dress I bought is a size smaller than I am right now. Plenty of time to go down a size...but I really don't want to gain and risk the dress not fitting and having an unhappy bride on my hands LOL.

    I may just err on the side of caution and do the moderate level unless anyone else speaks. Especially since my daily totals are going to go down (going from ~1hr, 30min a day to about 30-45 at max). I'm not eating enough to be working out as much as I am. I can work out all day, but can't eat enough to keep up with that amount lol.

    As your exercise is going to be less and you are worried about going over, then try the lower figure first. If you do increase your exercise or you stall and lose nothing, you should really try higher rather than lower to adjust.

    With regard to you having trouble eating enough, take a step back a bit.............how did you manage to eat enough to put the lbs on in the first place? We all do it, its not unusual. We change to healthy food and find it fills us up too much so we can;t eat enough. Yes eat healthy as best you can, but you should also eat in way that you can eat for the rest of your life. Its a lifestyle change not a short term diet. Not all of the foods you used to eat are too bad for you to eat now, so long as they fit into your diary. Also try high calorie/low portion size foods like avacado, nuts, peanut butter and my daily favourite to bump my number up - yummy 0% greek yoghurt.

    Hope this helps.
  • miss_sarcastic
    miss_sarcastic Posts: 131
    What I eat is not a problem, as I maintain a fairly paleo (occasionally primal) diet. It's the fact that I'm a full-time student graduating in May while also working part-time, plus am active in an organization that requires me to meetings and whatnot throughout the week, that is the problem.

    I know these are excuses and lots of people are busy, but nonetheless, it's still true. Since I don't eat out, I have to prepare stuff in advance, but there are so many variables to preparing meals in my schedule. No fun.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    If you are doing 30 DS for a half hour a day 5-6 days a week I would choose moderate.

    Just a note about your HRM stats - HRMs are not accurate for weight lifting activities. They tend to overestimate. They are intended for and are most accurate for steady state cardio. There is a degree of error during interval type activities and they are not accurate for weight lifting/strength training.

    Explanation
    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698
  • miss_sarcastic
    miss_sarcastic Posts: 131
    If you are doing 30 DS for a half hour a day 5-6 days a week I would choose moderate.

    Just a note about your HRM stats - HRMs are not accurate for weight lifting activities. They tend to overestimate. They are intended for and are most accurate for steady state cardio. There is a degree of error during interval type activities and they are not accurate for weight lifting/strength training.

    Explanation
    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698

    I was aware of that. I take the calories burned with a heavy grain of salt.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Ok. Just making sure.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    My solution is to set myself to sedentary because my job is at a desk. Then add any exercise I do separately. From there I decide if I want to eat any of it back. That way on a day when I don't do much or anything I can stick to my basic budget, if I do a normal workout I can decide what to eat, if I go for a long run or bike ride I can eat a bit more if I choose. For example, I've done virtually no exercise the past few weeks between having influenza and my mom being in hospital so my eating is at my sedentary base.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    My solution is to set myself to sedentary because my job is at a desk. Then add any exercise I do separately. From there I decide if I want to eat any of it back. That way on a day when I don't do much or anything I can stick to my basic budget, if I do a normal workout I can decide what to eat, if I go for a long run or bike ride I can eat a bit more if I choose. For example, I've done virtually no exercise the past few weeks between having influenza and my mom being in hospital so my eating is at my sedentary base.

    That's what I like about this site. Except I chose lightly active as my job is more than a desk job.
  • miss_sarcastic
    miss_sarcastic Posts: 131
    My solution is to set myself to sedentary because my job is at a desk. Then add any exercise I do separately. From there I decide if I want to eat any of it back. That way on a day when I don't do much or anything I can stick to my basic budget, if I do a normal workout I can decide what to eat, if I go for a long run or bike ride I can eat a bit more if I choose. For example, I've done virtually no exercise the past few weeks between having influenza and my mom being in hospital so my eating is at my sedentary base.

    I like this idea the best, just in case 'life' happens and I cannot get exercise in like I had planned. According to most calculators I've looked at (tried a few) my TDEE-20% with no exercise is around 1633-1750 depending on the calculator. Sadly, I struggle to eat barely 1400 calories...this is going to be a challenge, especially when I do workout.

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